To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5) (69 page)

“Surely Talmon is more qualified and he did negotiate the brief alliance that brought about the success of his mission to Shantear,” Geran stated, making it clear for whom he voted.

Terroll faced Lena. “I appreciate your vote of confidence. Even so, you are the most experienced Maestro and I believe you should lead us.”

Janna caught his attention. “Terroll, you are the one who has been working tirelessly on behalf of the Chosen Vessel. He visited you at least once and has used you on a number of occasions to relay information to us. In my first interview with Sherree Jenna, she told me it was Daniel’s idea you brought before us to use the Crystal Chamber to strengthen the shields on Tarin Conn. The Shantear mission was his idea. Lena is correct, that young man will come to trust you again; after it is clear no one can override your orders or compel you to attack him. While Talmon is definitely qualified, he is still under restraint, and we do not know when he will be able to cast spells again. How many days should we wait?”

“Unless there are to be further disclosures, I move that we vote again,” Lena said.

No one spoke up so Terroll summoned the potential and, “Lena Beyers,” flashed in his mind, appeared on the slip, and as before, floated into the bowl.

Lena examined each slip and a slight smile parted her lips before she read the results. “We have one vote for Lena Beyers and six votes for Terroll Barnes.”

A surreal feeling fell on Terroll as each Maestro placed the ring representing their guild on his fingers and reality set in after he added the pyramid ring. “Grand Maestro, how may we serve?” Lena asked, and was echoed by the other Maestros.

Terroll knew what needed to be done and decided to get right down to business. “I propose we start working on correcting a mistake. The best way for us to prove to Daniel Benhannon that we are not his enemy is to make the fact official. The Atlantan Guild, of which Daniel Benhannon is the Maestro, is to be considered a Non-affiliated Co-existent to Aakadon. I realize that recognizing and giving legitimacy to a guild not affiliated with Aakadon is unprecedented, but it is the first necessary plank in the bridge of trust I intend to build.”

“I second the motion,” David Svennar, Maestro of the Stone Guild, said without hesitation. He probably liked the part about building a bridge.

The slips flew into the bowl, which was now in front of Terroll. He read the results. “It is unanimous, the Atlantan Guild, of which Daniel Benhannon is the Maestro, is now and forevermore a Non-affiliated Co-existent to Aakadon. This declaration is to be published tonight.”

“That can happen after we announce the change in leadership,” Janna said. “It is a good thing you prepared Rondara for the possibility of you resigning as Maestro of the Zephyr Guild.”

“I suppose it was,” Terroll replied upon reflection. “Let us hope Daniel is as pleased about my becoming Grand Maestro as you seem to be.”

-----

Tarin Conn sat in his chair and drank wine from his crystal goblet while contemplating a way to escape the shield. He ignored Serena, who was standing quietly in front of him, and waiting to be of service. How can he escape a shield with a Da Capo tied to his own life force? How does one die and yet live? The answer tickling his subconscious must lay in what occurred in Shantear. The young Aakasear went into the battle wielding topaz blue potential, was weakened to the point of death, Tarin was sure at the time, and minutes later Daniel projected a healthy image. For many months reports spoke of the Ducaunan summoning potential with more colors than a rainbow and recent accounts speak of it as again being topaz.

“Supreme Maestro, even though I am young and inexperienced, it may help if you share with me your thoughts on breaking the Da Capo,” Serena offered. The hood of her cloak was down, revealing red-blond hair, and blue eyes widening with the desire to please him.

Tarin chuckled at the thought of a person far less than a century old being able to help one such as him who was truly ancient of days. “Very well, tell me what you have learned about Daniel Benhannon.”

Serena stood straighter and the light of the glowing spheres above revealed how her peach-colored complexion was nicely contrasted with the black silks, which followed the contours of her petite frame. “He recently defeated Maestros Barnes and Reese, along with the Grand Maestro. The Atlantan Guild is as much at war with Aakadon as they are with us, although neither side has engaged the other since the incident ten days ago. It is possible those leaders are shielded the same way you are and may be wrestling with the same dilemma. The color of Benhannon’s potential has reverted back to topaz. He married Sherree Jenna, who is credited with saving his life at Shantear,” she continued to rattle off details while Tarin added the facts to what he knew.

The Grand Symphonies drained Daniel; his wife revived him using her life force energy, and the neophyte Aakasear was back to normal. But he was not. The color of his potential changed, these facts Tarin was sure of. “Serena, what is the color of Sherree Jenna’s potential?”

The young Aakacarn blinked and shut her mouth, having been in the middle of a sentence about Daniel stealing control of her sasquatches. “My agents report the color to be amber.”

If Daniel’s wife revived him with amber potential his hue should be the same as hers. The Aloe Guild spell, Rejuvenation, could possibly reenergize him but it would take a tremendous amount of potential, spread over his entire being, as far as Tarin knew, to actually restore the Ducaunan to life after being completely drained. The answer was there, Tarin felt it. Daniel technically died and yet lived. If she gave him some of her potential by means of the spell, Rejuvenation, and he composed a Melody allowing him to draw energy from hundreds of other Aakacarns, then the potential sustaining Daniel’s life would be multicolored.

The young Melody-composer had willfully broken a tradition thousands of years old by marrying the girl. Tarin had first thought the wedding of the two was because of the contrary nature of an Aakasear coupled with the passions of youth, but those may not have been the only reasons. His adversary had proven to be quite clever and the boy might have had a more practical reason for the marriage. “The Creator’s ancient words for marriage are; He made them male and female and for this reason the two shall become one flesh.”

“Great One, that definition of marriage has always been applied to non-Aakacarns, but that does not explain why an Accomplished would marry an Accomplished,” Serena responded even though he had not asked for her interpretation.

The two shall become one, therein was the answer. Tarin focused on the female in front of him and gave considerable thought to the idea taking shape in his mind. The plan was so dangerous he might not survive and even success would leave him severely weakened. He cursed Daniel several times for making him desperate enough to do what must be done. The Da Capo was linked to Tarin’s life force and he could think of no other way to remove it.

“The rule has always been applied to Aakacarns, but Aakasears seldom live by the rules. The purpose for the tradition has to do with reproduction and the spell, Childless; cast by either or both would negate the possibility of a child being a result of the coupling, even though neither he nor she used the Melody, the reason for which eludes me.” Tarin replied. “The First Accomplished of the Atlantan Guild is the equivalent of Maestro Cummin in the Serpent Guild, yet Daniel elevated Sherree Jenna, a two-bolt Accomplished, to First Lady, and gave her authority equaling that of Leah Barryn, a Four-bolt. Why do you think he would do that?”

He could see the lust growing in her eyes and knew the desire for power far exceeded all of the other passions she may be feeling. “The easy answer would be that he finds her physically attractive, but I suppose his reasons are more calculating and practical. Sherree Oben Jenna is related to the Queen of Lobenia, the marriage has opened doors to the throne that would have remained barred to him, and he gained a strong ally. He totally negated the Grand Maestro’s plan to paint him as a Ducaunan Knight stealing land from neighboring kingdoms, especially when the monarch whose land he claimed is now pleased he did so.”

“I agree the marriage helped him politically where the commoners are concerned, but why the power division in the guild?” Tarin asked what he hoped would lead the conversation exactly where he wanted it to go.

She affected a coy smile. “Great One, he is consciously or unconsciously following the pattern you have laid. You appointed Vance to the position of Maestro so he can handle the minutia of running the guild and you granted me the status of being Most Favored. Through me you have links to hundreds of influential people worldwide and have employed my services to take part in special castings. Consequently, even though I command only one bolt of potential, your followers respect me nearly as much as they do Vance. Similarly, I believe the First Accomplished handles the everyday running of the Atlantan Guild and probably helps the most in the war effort while the First Lady commands his commoners and the more specialized assignments, as I do for you. Apart from Daniel Benhannon the two-bolt Accomplished would have little standing in his guild.”

“I see, you believe he married the follower he favors the most rather than simply declare her to be Most Favored the way I did you,” Tarin replied. “It does seem that he has been following in my steps. But marrying the Most Favored seems extreme and it is nothing I have ever considered, so in this he has ventured off the path I set. What do you believe is the difference in the two standings that would make one better than the other?” he asked, hoping she would catch on soon.

“I suppose in the eyes of many people marriage implies a stronger bond while being the Most Favored is a status that can change on a whim,” she gave an answer closer to what he wanted to hear. “The Atlantan Guild is young, with thousands of neophyte members, and maybe a few hundred Accomplisheds actually trained in Aakadon. Benhannon must believe marrying Jenna strengthens the cohesion of his association in a way declaring her to be the Most Favored just would not do. I will not pretend to understand why he would think so but I do see the results. His people are loyal and motivated to fight for him to an extent I have never seen. Also, by marrying Sherree Jenna, a person clearly devoted to him, he gained someone he could trust with his life, if for no better reason than everything she has is dependent upon him being alive and well. Every report about Shantear credits her with saving him and yet I have heard no mention of Leah being involved.”

The talk of marriage increasing the cohesion of the guild, any guild, is born of Serena’s self-serving nature, Tarin was sure, but the rest of her words contained the answer. Daniel married a devoted follower of low potential, making her status in the guild totally dependent on his continued health, and insuring he could depend on her to save his life. Tarin smiled, finally understanding what went on in Shantear. The Aakasear married her, she gave him some of her life force energy and then he must have taken the rest from the other Aakacarns and continued to do so until his hue returned to normal.

“I could declare you to be the First Lady of the Serpent Guild without us actually marrying and having a physical relationship,” Tarin pointed out, “doing so would achieve the same results you just described.”

Her eyebrows lowered in seeming disappointment and then lifted as if a joyous thought occurred in that pretty head. Those blue orbs began reflecting the kind of lust Tarin interpreted as being of a carnal nature. “Great One, the members of your guild are far more cunning than the followers of Daniel Benhannon, and would be suspicious over the simple renaming of status. In fact, I am not sure even Benhannon’s followers would have believed he married Sherree Jenna if they did not have a physical relationship,” she paused and lowered her gaze to the floor as if suddenly shy about what she intended to say next. “Jenna being pregnant with his offspring is unequivocal proof they are married in every sense of the word. She is young enough that aging nine months so the child can form naturally may not be too big of sacrifice, not compared to what she gains. The odds are the child will be a non-Aakacarn and yet even that probability would not negate the purpose for the pregnancy or the reason for allowing the birth to take place. The baby is living proof their marriage is real, short of having people actually observe them copulating, and I am sure the couple would want privacy. I know I would.”

The last four words are what Tarin had been waiting to hear. The reasoning she gave might well explain why Daniel married the Aakacarn, but fathering a child only proves a physical relationship exits, not necessarily that he married the woman. Tarin knew Serena would do anything for him and this conversation led him to conclude she would marry him, for her own reasons, and have a physical relationship along with the power that would come from being his wife. “Are you saying you would want privacy or are you saying you would consider the sacrifice of aging and going through childbirth to be worth the prestige of being the First Lady?”

Even though she was staring down at the floor, he could see a slow smile spreading across her face as if she believed he had been manipulated by her. “Great One,” she said and slowly lifted her gaze, focusing those blues eyes on his black orbs. “I meant both. If serving you in that capacity strengthens the guild and pleases you, I would gladly put myself forth as a candidate.”

Tarin did not care if the marriage produced a baby. It was the, “two becoming one,” that would be the first step in gaining the ability to break the Da Capo. “You are physically appealing, my most loyal follower, and so I will marry you. We shall be wed within the mark and I want you to go and make arrangements. I want a quick ceremony, after which we shall retire to my personal chambers to consummate the marriage. In the outer chambers, I want Accomplisheds Berkin, SeTul, Cranzen, and Extollis.”